“Some monsters are born. Others are made. And the worst ones are raised in shadows.”
[T - 4:00:00]10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5MXKBgOPY
Sayaka Kurogane was still alive—barely.
Deep beneath a crumbling mansion on Caelthorn Island, she was chained, bloodied, and barely conscious. Her breathing was shallow, her pulse slow. The drug hadn’t fully worn off, but her fingers twitched. Her eyes fluttered. The first spark of consciousness was returning.
She didn’t know that above her, eight people were walking into a trap.
Upstairs, the team that had split off earlier arrived at the gates of the mansion.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQCEgB1d3n
There were nine total:
Levich Morozov
Luciano Moretti
Avni Rathore
Raiden Kurogane
Three senior scouts
And one extra: Ai Tanaka—a quiet, observant scout girl hand-picked for this mission.
Inside the mansion, the air was thick with dust and tension. The walls were covered in peeling gold wallpaper, and the silence was too perfect.
Lev spoke first: “This place is too quiet. It’s a setup.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFuYklS4bO
Luce nodded, eyes sharp. “She’s not outside. Sayaka has to be here.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoEYwIMlV2
Raiden added, “There’s no way she left Caelthorn.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuAJHJEpQO
Avni unsheathed her blade. “Then why is this mansion untouched?”
Suddenly, Luce stopped.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyu3gBhR4zX
“This is a trap.”
They all froze.
Luce turned to the group.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbTLjnqK2Zq
“We leave. Now.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48YT64lBYI
Ai immediately added, a little too fast: “Yes. We should leave. Let’s not stay here.”
Raiden looked at her. “You’ve been silent the whole trip. Now you want to run?”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WC5nQRNnT
Lev frowned. “We’re exhausted. We rest, then go.”
That was when Ai panicked. Her hands trembled. Sweat broke on her neck.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmr9OrAo3w
Avni noticed.
“I’ll take the three scouts out for air,” she said calmly.
Outside, the shadows weren’t still anymore.
Avni saw them. In the bushes. In the trees. Watching.
Their eyes glinted like animals. Oathless. Dozens of them.
Her heart pounded. She crept back in, faster than she’d ever moved.
“LUCE!” she hissed. “That girl—she’s a setup. And there are at least thirty outside.”
Luce slammed the door.
Raiden drew his blade. Lev pushed Ai to the wall.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRNAVzRbEOo
“You set us up.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9oIgeiAs4
Ai trembled. “I didn’t know it’d be this many! I was told just to get you here!”
Luce’s eyes darkened.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIwyftt7NNZ
“You don’t walk out of this.”
They began searching the walls, floor, shelves—
CLANG! A rusted panel behind the fireplace. Luce kicked it open.
A steel hatch led down into the mansion’s underground chamber.
Just then—CRASH!10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39fsubXX2S
A window shattered above. The Oathless were attacking from outside.
Lev turned to Avni.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFiS87oWlwm
“Get the others. We hold here.”
They descended into the depths.
Below the Mansion
Sayaka’s head jerked upright. Voices. Footsteps. Fighting.
Her wrists burned in the cuffs. Her knees collapsed as she struggled.
[T - 3:00:00]
They burst into the chamber.
Twenty or more Oathless turned their heads in unison.
Raiden whispered, “This is suicide.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKQSZgg67L
Lev’s fists clenched.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpD6Hakqxs1
Luce growled, “No. This is personal.”
Avni: “You think Sayaka is in here?”
Luce nodded. “This is Rokuro’s doing.” he thought
Rokuro Kurogane. The man who was once destined to become the head of COMA.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8poqqEUY9w
Rejected by Lev’s grandfather—Sylus Morozov.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0U1UNLuBm
For that, he killed Lev’s parents.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrN0rnhy7Jn
Erik’s parents.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3aEf2D6hD
And now, he had given the order…10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKWuRY9AH6
…to execute his own granddaughter. Sayaka.
Ai tried to run again.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNZCM3raQT
Luce caught her by the collar.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWgmNJy1pK
“Where are the others?!”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdCFbfwl5G
“I told you, I don’t know!” she cried.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2LbHeck7O
“COMA sees through liars,” Luce said coldly.
Raiden struck her in the gut. She crumpled.
Then the Oathless attacked.
They swarmed. Screamed. They weren’t human anymore.
Sayaka’s eyes widened from behind a steel door.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOO3zFzhqQi
She could barely move.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRurMeT44DH
But she heard it—Luce’s voice. The sound of steel against flesh.
The Fight Begins
Raiden fought two at once with brutal efficiency.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7z7QSh3iv
Avni slashed through their ankles and dropped them like trees.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBapIKjc1f
Lev crushed skulls. No hesitation.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zEQ7HrZmR
But it was Luce who shocked them all.
He moved like a shadow. Calculated. Fluid.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUPc0JFFyW
He strategically downed ten Oathless by himself using a broken pipe and his bare hands.
Lev—silent mid-fight—just stared.
“No wonder he acts like a leader.”
The Three scouts found Sayaka—barely conscious.
“She’s here!” one shouted. “She’s alive!”
They broke the door. Two stayed to guard her. one pulled her out.
[T - 2:00:00]
The last Oathless fell.
One scout had died during the chaos.
The remaining seven stood battered, bruised, but alive.
Sayaka was semi-conscious in Raiden’s arms.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZfDjfYIOx
Avni held her blade to Ai’s neck.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrG97cuaHRz
Luce stood over the corpses of Oathless, blood on his arms.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2D9fRpY07o
Lev was silent, still breathing hard.
Outside—48 students accounted for.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDHOynT2P3
9 entered the mansion.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLdXXU07z2U
8 came back out alive.
COMA Command Center – Umbra Island
Elda Kurogane watched the red dots.
The final one stopped blinking.
A voice came in:10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZd3Ozz6VON
“8 rescued. 1 dead. All heirs secured.”
Elda breathed again.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbeOwN1soR
COMA’s highest council stood behind her.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEfuFIE7JS
Sylus Morozov. Irina Volkova. Gianluca Moretti. Naoko Rathore. Selene Argyros.
“And Ai Tanaka?” Elda asked.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7xWUfBF241
“She’s in custody.”
She turned to the room.
“Victory,” Elda said. “COMA wins again.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWoNNO5Ts9C
But her voice wasn’t celebration. It was war.
ns216.73.216.139da2Rokuro had crossed the line.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMLaaDY6Ui
The next time… they would march.
and then Add to home screen.